SLAG HITS WALL IN 2010 SEAL BEACH 10K

After finishing next to last in a field of 1576 in the Seal Beach 10K last year, I was pumped to improve my time of 107:13. Training was decent. Got one run over 3 miles and that was 4.1 about 10 days ago. Ran many 2 mile runs and several 3 mile runs. Rested last 2 days (no running).

Up at 6 AM, two pieces of toast with peanut butter and off to the Seal Beach 10K. Arrived at 7:10 AM and got my normal parking spot. Signed in and got our normal Boeing group picture with 16 people. Legs felt good.

Race started at 8 AM in waves. The first wave was runners running 7 minute miles or better than a minute later the 2^nd wave who ran 7-9 minute miles than the third wave. They need a 7^th wave or so to include us 17 minute milers!!

Anyway I got to the start line in 6 minutes (chip in shoe thus I didn’t lose 6 minutes). I did my normal run/walk and felt good. But 1^st mile time was 14:10 a good 90 seconds faster than expected. 2^nd mile was 15:50, 3^rd mile in 16 minutes – all way faster than planned. The legs were getting weak and I had trouble standing up straight. Thus I walked leaning forward which caused me to walk faster so I didn’t fall on my face!! Fourth mile was still under 17 which I still couldn’t believe but I was fading. Tried to sit on the curb at mile 4 and drink my water and eat an energy bar. I had trouble getting down to a sitting position (weak legs) and spilled the water trying to sit down and an aide was right there asking if I was ok. I said yes just needed another cup of water! For the 5^th mile I did little running as the legs were weak. Several female walkers were right behind me and a few 20 yards in front unlike last year when I was by myself.

At mile 5 I hit the wall! The trail goes under PCH thus there is about a 15-20 yard downhill stretch to get under PCH and then 15-20 yards uphill. I tried to run the downhill but my rubbery legs couldn’t keep up with my forward lean body and I kept picking up speed and finally fell near the end of the downhill (Wall!!) Several females were right there asking if I was ok and helped me up. I felt fine but was bleeding from the knee and a lot from the right arm and busted my sun glasses. One gal (Vanessa) insisted on holding on to one arm to walk me about .4 miles to get to Marina drive (and only about .8 miles to the finish line). Meanwhile the blood on the arm was running thru the watch onto the hand. I was given a paper towel which I kept using to slow down the blood flow down the arm.

By the time I reached Marina there were a couple of police waiting for me and an ambulance was on the way.

I said I didn’t need any care – the bleeding pretty much had stopped. But the police forced me to wait on the ambulance. The medics checked me out and wrapped my knee and arm and asked me a bunch of questions. They always assume I fell because of a stroke or heart attack even though I explained what happen several times. Kept asking me the date and my birth date which I kept Acing! They were just about ready to let me go when I took off my hat and for the first time they noticed a knot on the right side of the forehead. I apparently also hit the ‘wall’ with my forehead. Now they said I had to go to the hospital. So away we went to Los Al hospital in an ambulance (my first ever ambulance ride). I was strapped on a board in the event I had a back injury and my neck was in a brace. Sure seemed like an overkill for a clumsy fall!

I got the full treatment at the hospital. IV, EKG, CAT scan, Tetanus shot, cleaning and dressing of wounds on the knee, arm and shoulder and a chance to pee in a plastic bottle 3 times as they kept filling me with saline through the IV! In one end and out the other.

Several runners I knew saw me sitting on the curb tended by medics and asked if I was ok. One called Tammy. She joined me at the hospital then drove back to Seal Beach to move my car from a one hour parking space.

After four hours in Emergency they finally released me. They said I was fine. I said, ‘I told the medics that nearly 5 hours ago’!

Tam drove me back to my car – told her to drop me off where the medics picked me up so I could finish my 34^th straight Seal Beach 10K! I didn’t know how to calculate my time. Elapsed time was nearly 6.5 hours while time running/walking was only 102 minutes. Since I am the scorekeeper for the Boeing runners, it was easy to decide which figure to use! Although that 6.5 hours would be a hard to beat record!

Just kidding – didn’t go final mile! Another streak blown! Tam drove me to car and I drove home so I could watch the Masters and do my stats!

Ordeal will cost my insurance provider a ton, hopefully not much by me.

I have e-mailed Patrick and asked if I could borrow his helmet!

Next morning. Some stiffness this morning but primarily in the fingers of the right hand. Must have jammed them in the fall. I did have minor abrasions on both hands and hip.

Only 7 finished in my age group (70 & beyond) with 1^st at 58:44 and 7^th at 82:24, 20 minutes faster then my projected finish time. However, a 102 time would have finished ahead of 12 of the 1675 runners.

Slag 4-10-2010